U  G 


A  GEOLOGIST 
CAN  DO  IN  WAR 


R.  A.  F.  PENROSE,  Jr. 


GIFT  OF 


WHAT  A  GEOLOGIST 
CAN  DO  IN  WAR 


WHAT  A  GEOLOGIST 
CAN  DO  IN  WAR 


PREPARED  BY 

R.  A.  F.  PENROSE,  Jr. 

FOR  THE 

GEOLOGICAL  COMMITTEE 

OF  THE 
NATIONAL  RESEARCH  COUNCIL 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

1917 


INTRODUCTION 

This  brochure  has  been  prepared 
for  the  purpose  of  stating  succinctly 
and  clearly  the  competency  of  the 
geologist  in  war  service.  It  is  com- 
mended to  the  attention  of  command- 
ing officers. 

JOHN  M.  CLARKE, 

Chairman,  Geology  Committee, 

National  Research  Council. 
April  24,  1917. 


3586 
[si 


CONTENTS 

Page 

General  Statement 9 

Camps 11 

Trenches  and  Tunnels 14 

Ground  for  Artillery  Positions 16 

Roads 17 

Maps 18 

Long  Distance  Observations 21 

Water  Supply 23 

Vibration  Effects 26 

Other  Qualities  for  Usefulness 27 


WHAT  A  GEOLOGIST 
CAN  DO  IN  WAR 

GENERAL  STATEMENT 
A  knowledge  of  geology  can  be 
made  of  use  in  many  ways  in  time  of 
war,  not  only  to  the  army  in  camp  but 
to  the  army  on  the  march  and  the  army 
in  battle.  The  ground  on  which  an 
army  camps,  the  ground  which  it 
traverses,  the  rocks  on  which  heavy 
guns  are  placed,  and  the  roads  over 
which  these  heavy  guns  must  be 
hauled,  the  ground  in  which  trenches, 
tunnels  and  other  openings  for  pro- 
tection or  storage  are  dug,  the  water 
supply  for  the  army,  and  many  other 
subjects  are  important  matters  in 

determining  the  success  of  military 
[9] 


GEOLOGISTS  IN  WAR 


operations,  and  in  most  of  them  the 
geologist  has  a  special  knowledge 
which  can  be  of  use  to  army  officers. 
The  distribution  and  character  of 
the  rocks,  their  stratified  or  unstrati- 
fied  nature,  their  porosity,  strength, 
elasticity,  composition  and  other 
physical  and  chemical  properties,  all 
have  a  bearing  on  the  welfare  of  an 
army  and  are  all  familiar  to  the 
geologist,  but  are  outside  the  knowl- 
edge of  most  army  officers.  In  the 
education  of  the  army  officer,  the 
numerous  matters  of  a  military  nature 
that  demand  his  attention  necessarily 
prevent  him  from  studying  these 
geological  subjects,  and  yet  a  knowl- 
edge of  them  is  of  importance  to  the 
success  of  military  operations. 

[10] 


CAMPS 

The  drainage  of  the  camp  and 
the  sanitary  arrangements  are  matters 
of  great  importance,  and  here  the 
geologist,  by  his  knowledge  of  the 
structure  of  the  ground,  can  be  of 
assistance.  Dry  and  sufficiently  high 
ground  is,  of  course,  desirable  from 
a  sanitary  point  of  view,  though  from 
a  strategic  point  of  view  perhaps  it 
cannot  always  be  occupied;  and  in 
places  where  military  necessity  re- 
quires a  camp  in  a  low,  swampy 
place,  there  may  be  spots  that  are  bet- 
ter drained  than  others,  or  where  the 
character  of  the  water  is  less  objec- 
tionable and  less  infested  with  mos- 
quitoes and  other  insects.  A  knowl- 
edge of  the  geology  of  a  swamp  is, 
in] 


GEOLOGISTS  IN  WAR 


therefore,  as  important  to  the  welfare 
of  an  army  camp  as  a  knowledge  of 
mountains  and  plains. 

A  true  comprehension  of  the  topog- 
raphy and  geology  of  arid  regions, 
such  as  are  found  in  our  southwest,  is 
often  necessary  for  the  safety  of  a 
camp,  for  many  attractive-looking 
meadows  are  really  the  bottoms  of 
dry  creek  beds,  and  before  morning, 
storms  in  the  mountains  above  may 
convert  them  into  roaring  torrents, 
sweeping  everything  before  them. 
Hundreds  of  pioneers  and  others  in 
our  southwest  have  lost  their  lives  in 
this  way.  Many  of  them  knew  the 
danger  of  camping  in  dry  creek  beds, 
but  they  did  not  grasp  the  topography 
of  the  country  sufficiently  to  realize 

[12] 


CAMPS 


that  the  convenient  flat  spots  which 
they  chose  for  camp  were  really  in 
line  of  drainage  channels,  and  hence 
in  line  of  danger. 


[13] 


TRENCHES  AND  TUNNELS 

The  geologist,  when  circumstances 
permit,  can  locate  the  more  easily 
worked  and  dryer  formations  for 
digging  trenches  and  tunnels,  and  can 
thus  often  save  not  only  unnecessary 
time  and  labor,  but  the  calamity  of 
wet  trenches  with  the  resulting  rheu- 
matism, pneumonia,  tuberculosis  and 
other  diseases.  He  cannot  always 
perform  this  service,  for  trenches  must 
be  dug  where  strategic  necessity  re- 
quires them,  and,  moreover,  an  army 
often  cannot  wait  until  the  geologist 
makes  his  examination ;  but  when  op- 
portunity permits,  the  geologist,  more 
than  anyone  else,  can  be  useful  in 
this  matter.  An  instance  of  how 
tunnels  and  underground  openings 

can  be  kept  dry,  even  among  forma- 

[14] 


TRENCHES  AND  TUNNELS 

tions  that  are  mostly  wet,  is  shown 
remarkably  in  the  case  of  the  under- 
ground railways  in  London.  The 
old  original  underground  railways 
were  dug  near  the  surface,  often  in 
porous,  water-bearing  materials,  and 
were  damp  and  uncomfortable.  The 
new  underground  railways,  com- 
monly known  as  the  tube-railways, 
were  made  largely  in  the  "  London 
Clay,"  which  formation,  though  un- 
derlaid and  overlaid  by  wet  strata, 
is  itself  so  impervious  to  moisture  that 
excavations  made  in  it  are  compara- 
tively dry.  The  result  is  that  the 
tube-railways  are  dry  and  healthy 
passages.  This  instance  is  mentioned 
to  illustrate  how  a  knowledge  of 
geology  can  affect  the  character  of 
underground  work. 


GROUND  FOR  ARTILLERY 
POSITIONS 

The  ground  on  which  heavy  artil- 
lery is  to  be  stationed  is  of  the  utmost 
importance,  for  on  its  firmness,  elas- 
ticity and  other  qualities  depends  to 
a  large  extent  the  accuracy  of  a  gun's 
work.  Here  again  the  knowledge  of 
the  geologist  is  of  importance,  for 
to  him  the  structure  and  the  physical 
and  chemical  character  of  rocks  have 
been  a  life  study,  while  they  are  un- 
known quantities  to  men  of  most  other 
professions. 


[16] 


ROADS 

The  roads  on  which  heavy  artil- 
lery is  to  be  moved  must  be  far 
stronger  than  most  roads.  In  fact, 
in  America  there  are  to-day  prob- 
ably few  roads  that  could  bear  with- 
out damage  the  heavy  artillery  used 
now  on  the  western  front  in  Europe. 
In  case  of  war,  our  wagon  roads,  and 
perhaps  some  of  our  railways,  would 
have  to  be  greatly  strengthened  to 
be  serviceable.  The  selection  of  the 
rock  and  other  materials  to  accom- 
plish this  result,  the  location  of  the 
quarries,  their  extent  and  their  capac- 
ity for  production,  are  all  within  the 
province  of  the  geologist. 


[17] 


MAPS 

The  geologist  in  his  comprehen- 
sion of  the  meaning  of  topographic, 
geologic  and  other  maps,  in  other 
words  in  his  ability  to  "  read  maps," 
can  be  of  much  service  to  army  offi- 
cers. All  army  officers  of  course  are 
supposed  to  be  able  to  understand 
topographic  maps,  but  to  them  the 
contour  lines  mean  only  elevations 
and  depressions  on  the  surface  of  the 
country,  in  some  places  abrupt  and 
in  others  more  or  less  gently  sloping. 
To  the  army  officer  ground  is  ground, 
hills  are  hills,  and  hollows  are  hollows. 
To  the  geologist,  however,  ground, 
hills  and  hollows  have  a  varying  sig- 
nificance. The  character  of  the  con- 
tour lines  on  the  topographic  map 


MAPS 

may  often  give  him  a  suggestion  of  the 
geological  structure  of  the  region  and 
even  of  the  probable  nature  of  the 
rocks.  In  fact,  if  a  geologist  has 
even  only  a  very  general  knowledge 
of  the  geology  of  a  region,  a  contour 
map  may  give  him  a  very  definite  idea 
of  the  character  of  the  rocks  or  other 
formations  comprising  any  certain 
district  in  that  region;  and  if  he  has 
in  addition  a  geologic  map,  his  in- 
terpretation of  conditions  is  still  more 
accurate.  This  knowledge  indicates 
to  him  the  character  of  the  mountains, 
hills  and  valleys,  enables  him  to  judge 
whether  a  valley  probably  consists 
of  low  swamps  or  dry  meadows; 
whether  the  rivers  are  deep  and  diffi- 

[I9J 


GEOLOGISTS  IN  WAR 


cult  to  ford,  or  shallow  and  easy  to 
ford ;  whether  they  are  swift  and  full 
of  rapids,  or  slow  and  moving  slug- 
gishly. 


[20] 


LONG  DISTANCE  OBSERVATIONS 

The  special  knowledge  of  the  geol- 
ogist enables  him  even  without  topo- 
graphic, geologic  or  any  other  maps 
to  see  many  things  at  a  distance  not 
apparent  to  others.  Through  his 
field-glasses  he  can  look  far  ahead 
on  the  line  of  march,  and  can  observe 
geological  conditions  and  identify  the 
most  available  passes  over  ridges  or 
through  mountain  ranges ;  he  can  de- 
termine whether  the  slopes  indicate 
underlying  rocks  which  might  make 
the  passes  smooth  and  easily  trav- 
ersed, or  whether  they  indicate  rocks 
which  might  offer  abrupt  and  difficult 
impediments  to  the  passage  of  an 
army;  he  can  predict  whether  the 
slope  on  the  other  side  of  the  range 


GEOLOGISTS  IN  WAR 


is  probably  steeper  or  has  a  more 
gradual  incline  than  on  the  near  side, 
whether  it  is  likely  to  be  an  open 
country  or  timbered,  as  well  as  many 
other  features  of  practical  importance 
to  an  army.  Many  a  mountain  pass 
might  look  desirable  to  one  not  famil- 
iar with  its  geology,  while  another 
pass,  apparently  more  difficult,  could 
be  seen  by  the  geologist  to  be  much 
more  available. 


133] 


WATER  SUPPLY 

The  geologist  can  often  be  of  much 
service  to  an  army  in  the  question  of 
water  supply.  In  regions  where  sur- 
face waters  are  abundant  and  suit- 
able for  use,  the  geologist  may  not 
be  needed,  but  where  underground 
water  has  to  be  sought,  his  services 
become  of  importance.  A  study  of 
the  circulation  of  underground  waters 
is  as  much  a  part  of  the  education  of 
a  geologist  as  the  study  of  the  nature 
of  rocks  and  minerals,  of  geological 
formations,  of  topographic  and  geo- 
logic maps  and  the  various  other 
matters  already  mentioned. 

The  surface  of  the  ground  in  many 
regions,  especially  in  the  arid  parts 
of  our  west  and  southwest,  looks  like 

[23 


GEOLOGISTS  IN  WAR 


a  dry  and  barren  waste,  but  often  at 
a  depth  of  from  a  few  feet  to  a  few 
hundred  feet,  underground  waters  are 
circulating.  The  discovery  of  such 
waters  would  be  of  great  value  to  an 
army,  not  only  in  giving  them  a  local 
supply  of  clear,  fresh  water,  inde- 
pendent of  outside  sources,  but  in 
saving  the  expense  and  the  time  of 
men  and  mules  or  motor  trucks  in 
hauling  water  from  a  distance,  which, 
even  after  it  reaches  camp,  may  be 
hot,  muddy  and  insipid.  Under- 
ground waters  of  course  cannot  al- 
ways be  found,  and  even  where  they 
exist  they  are  often  too  limited  in 
quantity,  or  too  great  in  depth,  to  be 
available  under  the  circumstances  of 

immediate  necessity;   but   in   many 

[24] 


WATER  SUPPLY 


places  they  do  exist  and  could  be 
reached  by  some  form  of  portable 
boring  machine.  The  knowledge  of 
the  geologist  is  essential  in  locating 
them. 


[25] 


VIBRATION  EFFECTS 

The  problems  of  landslides  and 
snowslides  in  mountainous  regions, 
due  to  vibrations  caused  by  heavy 
cannonading,  the  possibility  of  the 
use  of  the  seismograph  in  determining 
the  distance  of  artillery  fire,  and  many 
other  allied  subjects,  are  important 
matters  for  the  geologist  in  studying 
his  sphere  of  usefulness  in  the  field 
of  battle. 


26] 


OTHER  QUALITIES  FOR 
USEFULNESS 

In  addition  to  the  matters  already 
mentioned,  the  geologist  whose  work 
has  been  in  the  more  newly  settled 
parts  of  the  world,  and  not  in  the 
older  settled  region  where  he  has 
lived  in  civilization,  is  an  efficient 
scout.  His  training  has  been  in  the 
wilds  among  mountains,  hills  and 
plains;  often  without  trails,  where  he 
has  had  to  take  his  course  by  the 
blazes  on  the  trees  or  from  the  stars, 
the  moon  or  his  compass,  and  often 
surrounded  by  hostile  natives.  He 
can  fight,  cook,  withstand  bad 
weather  and  discomfort,  and  still 
keep  on  with  his  scientific  work;  he 
has  acquired  the  woodcraft  of  the 

127] 


GEOLOGISTS  IN  WAR 


old  trapper  together  with  the  educa- 
tion of  a  scientist.  Few  other  men 
possess  this  unique  combination  of 
accomplishments. 


[28] 


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